From Summer to Sumer
by Darling Drusilla
Summary: In which Dawn goes to live with her Aunt Sammi in Colorado and Buffy failed the inspection made by the CPS. Ssn 5 for SG1 and pre-Glory for Buffy.


I do not own Buffy, Angel, or Stargate in any of it's incarnations. Believe me, if I could get one night with...Anyways! Here's the fic, I don't own anything mentioned except for the occasional reference to an inside joke you won't get but makes me and a few others laugh. ^_^

"I really am sorry Dawn," the CPS worker spoke, glancing over at the passenger seat of the car. "But your aunt was the only option."

"They can visit right? The Scoobys?" Dawn asked, glancing over at the woman driving the car. The image of trees and mountains was starting to get monotonous, only barely better than the view f seats offered by her seat on the plane.

"Of course they can," Hally Frank smiled. "You aunt was only too happy to have you come live with her. And I'm sure she'd be willing to have your friends visit."

Aunt Sammi wasn't exactly Dawn's idea of a maternal figure. She'd feed Dawn and keep her clothed, everything the CPS required of her to be a guardian, but aunt Sammi was a bit more of the scientific type. According to Halley or Halfrek or whatever, her Aunt Sammi was away on missions fairly often, and as much as she'd tried to help Dawn stay in Sunnydale, as much as she'd tried to have people paying more attention, Halfrek had been forced to remove Dawn from the Hellmouth. After all, there wasn't a Buffy or a Buffy-bot to pretend to take care of Dawn and CPS wanted Dawn in the hands of a respectable family member.

"She's not going to take my books or anything is she?"

"Of course not," Halfrek shook her head. "Dr. Carter is very supportive of education and learning, a scientist would have to be. I don't think she'd try to take your things away from you at all."

Dawn nodded her head. Before leaving for Colorado, Giles had done something downright amazing. He'd parted with his books. Some of his books, not all. Mostly the books Dawn had injured in some way during research nights. Some of them were 'new' but two were very important to Dawn. One was the book detailing Dawn's very existence by the order of Dagon. The other was a book on the Vampyre, a book Buffy had brought with her from LA after Merrick died.

* * *

"Sam...are you sure it's wise to do this?" Jack asked. The team was helping her get her place ready for her niece and from what Jack could tell, the girl was suffering from a lot of loss right now. It wouldn't be so good for her if Sam was constantly on missions.

"I have to Jack," Sam sighed, putting her hands on the counter. They'd finally talked her down from the guest room -Dawn's room- and gotten her to clean up before the girl arrived with her case worker. "Joyce died only a few months ago and then Buffy...Dawn is all I have left on the planet Jack. I can't let her get lost in the system."

Jack nodded. Sam had almost been useless when the news of her sister's death came, Janet had not allowed Sam off planet in case she lost her sense of self preservation. After finding out Buffy had died two weeks ago, Sam had demanded she be able to take Dawn under threat of retirement. Hammond had assured her that it didn't need to go that far and even gave Sam a few weeks of leave while dawn adjusted.

"Do you know anything about her?" Daniel asked. "Her interests? It might help you bond if you could relate over something." He'd been helping to clean Dawn's room while Jack and Teal'c cleaned the garage. Sam's car might finally get some use.

"Dawn is...I really don't know. I mean, Joyce was usually complaining about Buffy when we talked..." Sam was silent for a moment before she continued. "From what I remember, and from what I've seen in the records they sent me, Dawn has a perfect GPA. She has perfect attendance, she's engaged in extra-curricular activities, fund raisers, food drives...she's the perfect student."

"Must run in the family," Jack nodded from beside the fridge.

"If it does then it skipped Buffy and Joyce," Sam smiled. "Although Dawn isn't really the physics type."

"What's that mean?" Jack started to scowl.

"It means that she already had an associates in linguistics by her junior year." Sam looked over at Daniel then. "She'll have more in common with you really. I'll admit, I was hoping to have a few discussions about physics, maybe have a protégé. But...Dawn seems to be doing just fine on her own."

"Wait a minute, this kid isn't even out of high school and she has a degree?"

"Yeah, according to my sister, she has a real knack for picking up languages. By age three she was speaking four. And once she got into school she just kept picking them up."

"How was she exposed to that many?" Daniel asked, curious about the girl.

"Korean nanny, Mexican housekeeper, Hank had a Russian business partner and Dawn had American parents. Part of life in LA is being around diversity." Sam shook her head. "I just hope she'll be able to adjust."

"Sounds like she's a good kid," Jack assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "And I'm sure you'll get along regardless of math."

"She has arrived," Teal'c spoke up for the first time. He was looking out the window at a government issue vehicle and it's two occupants. A silver SUV was glinting in the afternoon sun on Sam's driveway.

"Time to welcome her home," Jack nodded. "Sam."

The blonde nodded and set down her glass, a shaky breath escaping her lips before she went out to the front porch. Once there, she saw Dawn was getting a pep talk from her care worker before she got out of the car. Even after leaving the confines of the vehicle, she had to look over to Miss Frank for reassurance, following behind Frank as they approached the front porch. She was pretty, tall and slim but she was well endowed. Traits the Carters were not known to have at all. Maybe it was her Summers genes.

"Dr. Carter?" the brunette woman asked, smiling. There was something about her that told everyone she could make their lives very unpleasant. "I'm Miss Frank, we spoke on the phone."

"Yeah," Sam nodded, looking over Halfreks shoulder to see Dawn. "Dawn?" When the slim girl looked up at her name, Sam noticed that Dawn had blue-gray eyes, another trait the Carter's weren't known for. Miss Frank got out of the way when the two women moved closer and hugged.

"Would you boys mind helping me unpack her things?" Halfrek asked, allowing the two women to console one another. "Who are you by the by?"

"Colonial Jack O'Neill, Sam's Commanding officer.," Jack nodded. "Came to offer our support for to her."

Miss Frank smiled. "It's always good to have a strong family, and you two?"

"Dr. Daniel Jackson," he introduced, extending his hand. Halfrek took it into her own and smiled.

"I am Murray," Teal'c spoke, ever-frowning. He didn't extend his hand, though Halfrek didn't seem offended.

"Well, Dawn is a very special young lady, and I think you'll all be very important to her." Halfrek moved to the back of the station wagon, unlocking the trunk before moving to the back seat where Dawn's books were. "Dr. Jackson, you seem like a man with a respect for knowledge, could you perhaps help me with these?"

"Of course," he nodded, making his way to the back seat. Jack was mocking the CPS worker from the back hatch, calming when the woman glanced back. But Daniel stopped short when he saw the top most book. "These are Dawn's?"

"They are," Halfrek answered. "You'll have to ask her about them however. I only know that they were gifts from he mother's boyfriend. Would you mind taking the big box?"

"There's so much to say, and I don't know how to say any of it," Sam whispered into Dawn's hair. "Oh Dawn, I tried so hard to get into Sunnydale. You have no idea."

"It's alright," Dawn replied, voice shuddering from her tears. "You're here now."

"I am," Same pulled back, looking her niece in the eyes. "I am here and I will do everything in my power to keep being here. I promise you. My work might call me away sometimes, but I will always come back, I promise."

"Thank you," Dawn smiled, leaning close to her aunt once more. She smelled like family. Family... Dawn's tears renewed as she thought of family. Her father Angel who never admitted who or what she was, his mother and her sister-mother...and all she had left was her aunt. The only member of the Carter family she'd ever met in memory or in reality.

"We got everything unpacked into her room," Jack told Sam quietly. "Miss Frank wants you to sign something, finalize everything."

Sam nodded, leaning down and kissing her niece's head. "I'll be right back, okay? I'd like you to meet Jack. Jack, this is my niece Dawn."

"Nice to meet you Dawn," Jack replied, slightly uncomfortable with the sight of a crying teen girl. Crying women in general made him uncomfortable. "Carter's been excited to get you here. Has paint chips upstairs and a whole set of catalogs to pick out furniture."

"Do I have a bed?" Dawn asked silently. The plane ride and the loss of so much made the young girl want nothing more than two days of sleep.

"Sam has a twin set up for you until you pick out one for yourself," Jack nodded, glad Dawn's tears had slowed. An awkward silence rested between them, broken only by Daniel coming downstairs with an ancient tome in his hands and excitement in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I dropped this by accident, is this really a copy of the Black Book of Caermarthen?"

"Uhm, yeah, Angel gave it to me, it's been in the family for centuries and he decided I needed to have it."

"Angel?" Jack asked, being ignored as Dawn and Daniel began to talk about the book and the set it belonged to. Well, on the upside Dawn wasn't crying, in fact she seemed excited by Daniel's knowledge and attentions...oh no.

"Well, they hit it off didn't they?" Sam had returned to the porch, having signed her paper and politely invited Miss Frank for dinner. Halfrek had declined of course, but not before giving Sam a very clear warning what would happen should she ignore Dawn in any way. It actually sounded like Miss Frank was willing to carry her threats out. It also made Dawn seem a bit like a Mogwai.

"A bit too much," Jack grumbled. "She's been getting closer to him since he came downstairs with that book."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Sam smiled. "Besides, Dawn needs something normal right now, and not much is more normal than a schoolgirl crush on a teacher."

Jack didn't believe her. Crushes on Daniel usually turned into something full of explosions and bullets and kidnappings. "Yeah...anyways I gotta get Teal'c back to base, you probably want to get Dawn inside and get some food in the kid. You got her enrolled yet?"

"Not yet," Sam shook her head. "But thanks for helping us out today. I'll give you a call tomorrow after breakfast, maybe closer to lunch depending on when we wake up."

"Monkey!" Jack shouted, breaking into the academic discussion the two had fallen into. "Time to let the girl rest. We'll be by tomorrow if you call or not. It was nice to meet you Dawn. Welcome to Colorado."

"Thank you sir," Dawn nodded and then blushing turned to Daniel. "It was nice to meet you Dr. Jackson."

"Call me Daniel," he smiled at her.

That feeling returned to Jack's gut as Dawn's face turned a bit more cherry red and she tried to hide behind Sam. Schoolgirl crushes indeed.

* * *

So, this is the fixed version of what used to be up. It will deviate pretty heavily from what was up before because the original was an abandoned outline for something that fell apart Very quickly.


End file.
